Chosen To Lead

Chapter 1 - Jackie of All Trades

                Jackie slid her hand back, pulling it far enough so that her warm skin brushed against her cheek. Her green eyes surveyed the backyard as a slight breeze caught wisps of her hair in its elusive grasp. Her aim averted to anything that moved, giving her a possible target.

An almost inaudible sound touched her ears softly, causing her focus to shift to a nearby elm tree. Leaves ruffled and fluttered to the ground as a few limbs shook due to unbalanced weight. Her eyes narrowed on the tree as she stepped forward, keeping her head held ahead of her prudently.

A different noise caught her attention. As she neared the tree, she heard the faint sound of a groan from within its branches. More sounds of struggle greeted her ears as she lowered her bow and set her arrow into the quiver that dangled at her side. As she looked more closely, she finally caught sight of a struggling teenage boy, pulling himself onto a branch that towered over the ground.

“What exactly are you doing Danny?” She pressed the edge of her hand over her forehead to shield the sun’s intense rays.

He gasped as he looked towards the ground and cursed. His knuckles went pale as he increased his grip on the branch he held. “Why did you have to make me look down?” he moaned.

“Sorry,” she said with a shrug. “I just want to know what you’re doing twenty feet up in a tree.”

“Long story short – Maia lost her kite, and I found it.”

She almost laughed at his attempt to snatch the glossy plastic wedged between above branches. “Do you need some help?”

“No, no,” said Daniel, “I got this.” He held his hands to his sides as he attempted to lift himself into a standing position. Leaves swished together as the branch he was perched on trembled violently.

“I thought you were afraid of heights,” she mused quietly, unsure if it was perceptible to his ears.

Danny glanced over his shoulder at Jackie, half-glaring. “I am.”

“Then why don’t you let me help you?”

“Come on Jackie, I already told you I could handle this. I just need to reach a little farther.” He stretched out for the kite’s handle, only centimeters from his fingertips….

There was a strident snap. Danny let out a shout as the limb beneath him gave way. He clutched the above branch for dear life as the one under him detached from the tree and plummeted to the earth below.

“Okay Jackie, now would be a good time to help!”

Before Danny had even spoken, Jackie had cartwheeled in the tree’s direction and leapt from the ground. Her fingers curled around the nearest tree limb as she swung herself upwards to catch another. Her palm began to sting as slivers of wood etched their way into her skin. She shifted her position in the tree, catching an outside limb with her legs and twining them over. When she released her hands, her body swung downwards so that she hung upside down.

Another alarming crack sounded at the branch Danny held on to. He groaned as a fissure developed in the wood. The branch sagged just slightly due to his pulling weight.

“Jackie!” he yelled.

“I have an idea, but you’re going to have to trust me!” she shouted as blood pulsed into her head. Dizziness threatened to compromise her focus, but she shook it away.

“I don’t think I have any other choice!”

“Alright.” Jackie readied herself for his descent. “You have to let go!”

He blinked at her, cynicism in his eyes. “Are you crazy? It’s like a twenty foot drop!”

“Just trust me! That branch is going to snap any second now!”